Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Wednesday

Brown Ale Cheese SoupMushroom Barley Soup vegetarian

The Rowhouse,sundried-tomato-basil cream cheese, crunchy sprouts, cucumbers, sliced red onion, swiss cheese all on a toasted ciabatta sub roll...................................................Tuesday was Beer Cheese Soup day at Peanut's Pub and Chili in Minneapolis. Back when "starving artist" wasn't just a cliché, eating out was a rare treat - usually reserved for when the parents came to town. Friends from school would head down to Peanuts for pitchers of beer, endless peanuts and popcorn and, on Tuesdays, a bowl of their fabulous Beer Cheese Soup. I tried to weasel the recipe out of the chef with no luck until one fateful day when he had pushed the waitstaff too far. Just before I left the waitress pressed a napkin into my hand and muttered a few colorful insults about the so-and-so who thought he was God almighty or some such thing thing. On a crumpled napkin the recipe had been cryptically jotted down. And thus began my quest for a beer cheese soup recipe that matches a fond food memory.

The Brown Ale Cheddar is delicious, but not the same. I'm thinking a bunch of raucous friends, cheap pitchers of beer, mountains of salty popcorn and peanut shells ankle deep may be the seasoning that's missing.